How to Chop Leg Mortises {Part 3 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}

HOW TO BUILD A DOVETAIL DESK WITH WOODWORKING HAND TOOLS (PART THREE)

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In this video I show how to follow the layout lines that we created in the last video, and chop mortises in the desk legs. To chop mortises I use a “pig sticker” mortise chisel. I prefer 3/8″ mortise chisels, but 1/4″ are also fine.

WOODWORKING HAND TOOLS THAT I USED:

Even though I have a helpful hand tool buying guide (here), I’m still often asked for a list of and links to the tools that I use in my videos, so here is a list of tools that I used in this series of video on desk building (I also included tools that I used in construction that wasn’t in the video):

WORKBENCH:

• Sjoberg Elite 2500 Beech Workbench (with optional tool cabinet)
• Moravian Workbench (portable and sturdy)
• Gramercy Holdfast

HAND PLANES:

• Lie-Nielsen Low Angle Rabbet Block Plane
• Lie-Nielsen No. 62 Low Angle Jack Plane
• Vintage Stanley No. 71 Router Plane
• Lie-Nielsen No. 73 Large Shoulder Plane
• Vintage Stanley No. 4-1/2 Smoothing Plane
• Vintage Beading Plane
• Vintage Wooden screw arm Plow plane

SAWS:

• Lie-Nielsen dovetail saw
• Lie-Nielsen’s thin plate 16″ Tenon Rip Saw
• Lie-Nielsen cross cut back saw
• Vintage Millers Falls Miter box and miter saw
• Robert Larson Coping Saw

CHISELS:

•  Vintage Stanley 750 bevel-edge chisels
• Vintage English Pig Sticker Mortise Chisel

MARKING & MEASURING:

• Starrett 6-inch combination square
• Vintage metal try square
• Vintage sliding bevel square
• Vintage Starrett Dividers / Compasses
• Veritas Wheel Marking Gauge or Veritas Dual Wheel Marking Gauge
• Lie-Nielsen panel gauge
• Wooden Straight Edge
• Vintage Stanley No. 62 Folding Rules (24″)
• Marking knife (chip carving knife)
• Staedtler Mars 780 Technical Mechanical Pencil

MALLETS & HAMMERS:

• Crown No. 106 20-Oz Beechwood Mallet
• TEKTON 3165 16-oz. White Rubber Mallet

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1. Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools – Part 1: Dovetail Carcass
2. Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools – Part 2: Legs
3. How to Chop Mortises {Part 3 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
4. How to Clean Mortises {Part 4 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
5. How to Layout Tenons {Part 5 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
6. How to Cut Tenon Shoulders {Part 6 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
7. How to Cut Tenon Cheeks {Part 7 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
8. How to Square Tenon Cheeks {Part 8 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
9. How to Fit a Mortise & Tenon {Part 9 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
10. How to Drawbore Mortise and Tenon Joints {Part 10 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
11. How to Make Pegs for Drawboring Mortise & Tenon {Part 11 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
12. How to Make a Through Mortise & Tenon {Part 12 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
13. How to Attach a Desk Top {Part 13 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
14. How to Use Traditional Cut Nails {Part 14 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
15. How to Make Breadboard Ends {Part 15 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
16. How to Make Breadboard Ends {Part 16 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}
17. The Completed Dovetail Desk! {Part 17 of “Build a Dovetail Desk with Hand Tools”}